Department for Transport

Motorways: Speed Limits

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the speed limit to 80 miles per hour on the motorway network.

Jesse Norman: The Department has no plans to change the speed limit.

Department for Transport: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being when formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national well-being in the last 12 months.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government has allocated more than £61bn in transport capital investment over the five years to 2020/21. This is record investment that ensures communities become better connected and journeys become easier and more reliable, in recognition of the vital role that transport plays in people’s lives. The Department takes forward a number of policies that help promote personal wellbeing, including the recently published Inclusive Transport Strategy which aims to make travel easier for disabled people, and the £1.2bn Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy that aims to make cycling and walking the natural choice for short journeys. The Department is also supporting the Government’s plan to help tackle loneliness as announced by the Prime Minister in January in response to the Jo Cox Commission. We have contributed £1m to the Building Connections Fund and sit on the cross-government group which will take responsibility for driving action on loneliness across all parts of government and keeping it firmly on the agenda. The Department uses a wide range of measures that help to inform policy formulation, including evidence drawn from across the ONS. As such, it is not possible to identify all specific instances where the use of ONS estimates of personal wellbeing have been used in the last 12 months.

Cycling: Finance

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the merits of increasing his Department's funding to Bikeability.

Jesse Norman: The Bikeability programme is an important part of the Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, because it provides the next generation of cyclists with the skills and confidence to make cycling a natural choice for shorter journeys. The Strategy included a commitment that the Department would invest £50 million to support Bikeability over the period to 2020, and the programme is currently delivering more than 300,000 training places per year to children in England outside London. The Government also announced in August that it would provide an additional £1m of funding for Bikeability as part of a suite of new measures aimed at halving childhood obesity by 2030. A further £1 million has been raised through a commercial partnership between Halfords and The Bikeability Trust. Additional funding has also been allocated to a new pilot scheme to develop a cycle training package for driving instructors aimed at improving empathy and understanding between road users. Funding and delivery of Bikeability in London is devolved to Transport for London and the London boroughs. Future funding for Bikeability will be considered during the next Spending Review. The Department for Transport is currently evaluating the benefits of the programme with more than 200 schools nationwide, and expects to be in a position to publish the findings in summer 2019.

Railways: Tree Felling

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Network Rail on the use of glyphosate along tracks after tree felling.

Joseph Johnson: This is an operational matter for Network Rail, which must comply with all environmental and safety regulations in its role as manager of Britain’s railway infrastructure.

M56: Accidents

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road traffic accidents there were on the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 in the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce accidents on that stretch of road.

Jesse Norman: Between 2014 and 2016, the number of reported road accidents involving personal injury on the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 has fallen by 31 per cent - from 29 to 20. To further improve the road safety performance of the junction still further, Highways England plans to modify part of the junction layout during the current financial year. Number of reported road accidents involving personal injury on the M56 (Junctions: 12-14)1; 2014 to 2016 YearNumber of accidents201429201526201620Source: DfT, STATS19Includes all the slip roads on and off at each of the junctions.

M56: Accidents

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of reported personal injury road accidents in each category of severity on the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 in each month of the last five years for which figures are available.

Jesse Norman: The number of reported accidents involving personal injury on the M56 between junctions 12 and 14 by severity, month and year in the last five years for which data is available is given in the table below. Number of reported road accidents involving personal injury on the M56 (Junctions: 12-14)1, by month and severity; 2012 to 2016   Accident Severity YearMonthFatalSeriousSlightAll Accidents2012January00002012February00002012March01122012April00222012May00112012June00222012July00332012August00222012September01232012October00112012November00112012December02132013January01342013February01012013March00222013April00442013May10562013June00332013July00442013August02462013September00112013October00112013November00002013December00002014January10342014February00222014March00222014April00002014May00112014June01452014July00222014August11352014September00112014October11242014November00222014December00112015January00222015February00222015March00002015April01232015May00222015June00442015July01012015August02352015September00112015October00332015November00112015December00222016January00002016February00442016March01232016April01342016May00002016June03142016July00112016August00332016September00002016October00112016November00002016December0000Total4201031271. Includes all the slip roads on and off at each of the junctions.   Source: DfT, STATS19  The annual totals are provided in the table below.  Number of reported road accidents involving personal injury on the M56 (Junctions: 12-14)1; 2012 to 2016 YearNumber of accidents201220201332201429201526201620  Total127   Source: DfT, STATS19

Railways: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's news story of 28 June 2018, Rail passengers in the north to start being compensated in early July, what plans he has for compensation to be provided for passengers who are not season ticket holders affected by recent disruptions to train services in Cumbria.

Joseph Johnson: All passengers are entitled to and encouraged to apply for Delay Repay compensation from their train operator. Both train operators, Northern and TransPennine Express will also be opening an additional compensation scheme to ensure that people who travelled regularly on the disrupted routes, but without a season ticket, will be eligible for compensation. This was announced at the end of July by Transport for the North, which is leading on the design of the scheme. Further details will be announced shortly by Transport for the North and the train operators.

Bus Services: Cumbria

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many operational bus services have been running in Cumbria in each of the last 20 years.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Bus operators must register their services with a traffic commissioner in the traffic area in which the service operates. The traffic commissioner operates a live system. The number of bus services at a local authority level is only provided for the current point in time. However, data is held for previous years at a regional level. Whilst the data is not held to the level and time period requested, the table below shows the number of live local bus registrations in the North Western Traffic Area as at 31 March of each year. Live local bus service registrations in the North Western Traffic Area, as at 31 March, 2008 to 2018 YearLive local bus registrations20084,24120094,26820104,15920114,25620124,14420133,92620143,40420153,49020163,27420173,54420183,353Source: Traffic Commissioners' annual reports Local authorities are best placed to manage changes in their local bus network. The Bus Services Act 2017 gives them additional powers to do so through partnership working with commercial operators. It also gives Mayoral Combined authorities the automatic right to franchise their bus network and the Department for Transport can also grant these powers to other local authorities who make a satisfactory business case. The Department is also developing regulations to require bus operators and local transport authorities to provide data, in open formats, about local bus services including routes and timetable data; fares and ticket data; and real time information. We are working closely with industry to develop the regulations and it is intended the requirements will be phased in over the next few years.

Biofuels

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of bio-ethanol fuel comes from sources in (a) the UK, (b) the EU and (c) the  rest of the world.

Jesse Norman: The Department publishes regular statistics covering the volume of biofuel reported under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation. This data includes feedstock and country of origin at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/biofuels-statistics The latest full year’s verified data is in report 6 from obligation year 9 (2016/17). It shows that 1,541 million litres of renewable fuel was supplied, of which 49 per cent was bioethanol. This is a total of 758 million litres of bioethanol. Of this total amount, 218 million litres (29 percent) is produced from UK feedstocks, 429 million litres, (57 percent) is produced from feedstocks sourced from elsewhere in the EU, and 111 million litres (15 percent) is produced from feedstocks sourced from the rest of the world.

Northern: Rolling Stock

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to improve the rolling stock operating on Northern railways.

Joseph Johnson: The train operators, Northern and TransPennine Express, will deliver brand new trains, including more than 500 new carriages, room for 40,000 extra passengers and more than 2,000 extra services a week. By 2020 all the trains will be brand new or completely refurbished, and all the Pacer trains will be gone.

Merchant Shipping

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average age was of bulk carrier merchant ships using UK ports in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Figures are shown in the tableYearAverage age of bulk carriers (years)201011.320119.820128.420137.820148.120157.820168.020178.0Source: DfT Analysis of vessel data supplied by Lloyds List Intelligence and DfT Maritime Statistics

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

AEA Group: Pensions

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has (a) lost or (b) destroyed (i) files and (ii) information it held on the AEA Technology Pension Scheme.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Records are reviewed in consultation with The National Archives to determine which should be permanently preserved and which should be securely destroyed. Departmental policy ensures that records in official systems are stored securely until this process has been completed. In line with departmental policy on 20-year-old records, a number relating to AEA Technology have been selected for destruction.

AEA Group: Pensions

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department holds pre-privatisation information on the AEA Technology pension scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department does not hold pre-privatisation information on the AEA Technology pension scheme. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to make a statement on this matter.

Airbus

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what communications there were between Ministers or officials of his Department and Katherine Bennett of Airbus in May and June 2018.

Richard Harrington: Richard Harrington met Katherine Bennett twice during this period, at meetings with other industry representatives. Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the Gov.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy&publication_type=transparency-data Officials were in regular communication with Katherine Bennett as is usual through May and June in her various roles – as Airbus’s lead UK representative, a member of the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) Board, Chair of the AGP Aerospace Engagement Working Group, and more recently her leading role in the establishment of the Women in Aerospace and Aviation Charter.

Public Sector: Electrical Engineering

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department takes to help public sector organisations ensure that their projects are not resourced with high proportions of under-qualified, unqualified or self-designated electrical workers.

Richard Harrington: The Department endorses the industry developed and managed Construction Skills Certification Scheme and the Electrotechnical Certification Scheme. These industry-wide schemes aim to ensure all construction clients and consumers can have confidence that those undertaking electrical work have the relevant training and qualifications to perform the work required.

Railways: Doon Valley

Bill Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect on the economy of the steam railway in Doon Valley; and if he will make a statement.

Kelly Tolhurst: Transport, culture and tourism in Scotland are devolved matters, and so as a heritage railway issue, any assessment would be the responsibility of the Scottish Government.

Nuclear Power: Finance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure the transparency of the terms of state-supported nuclear power projects.

Richard Harrington: Hinkley Point C benefits from a Contract for Difference, a mechanism that was introduced under Electricity Market Reform. The Government published the terms of the Contract for Difference and a Value for Money assessment at the time the contract was entered into. The Government will provide updates on the project where appropriate. On the 4 June 2018, the Secretary of State confirmed to Parliament that the Government has entered negotiations with Hitachi with regards to Horizon’s proposed Wylfa Newydd project, based on Anglesey in North Wales. Negotiations are ongoing and no decision has yet been taken to proceed. In his statement, the Secretary of State stated that he would continue to keep the House informed during the negotiations.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Peers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many members of the House of Lords hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within (i) his Department and (ii) his Department's agencies.

Richard Harrington: The Department has one paid role for a member of the House of Lords, Lord Henley, who represents the government in the House of Lords. The Department has no unpaid roles for members of the House of Lords. The Department has 40 Partner Organisations where members of the House of Lords have roles. One role is unpaid; the other eight roles are paid.

Spaceflight: Finance

Bill Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how his Department plans to allocate the two million pounds for assessing options for horizontal spaceports in the UK.

Mr Sam Gyimah: As part of Farnborough International Airshow on 15th August 2018, the UK Space Agency announced £2m of funding in support of horizontal spaceflight and spaceports, to further accelerate this early-stage market. The UK Space Agency is working closely with colleagues from several government departments, including the Scotland Office, to finalise the details of this scheme. We must, of course, ensure that any use of public funds provides value for money and will benefit the UK. We plan to make further announcements, subject to business case, later in 2018.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being when formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national well-being in the last 12 months.

Richard Harrington: The Department uses a range of surveys and data on well-being when formulating and evaluating its policies. The Office for National Statistics personal well-being questions are also included as measures for the wider Measuring National Well-being programme, which began in November 2010. The Department has introduced several policies that have a positive impact on national well-being. This includes the Industrial Strategy White Paper, published in November 2017, which aims to boost productivity by backing businesses to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people throughout the UK. The Industrial Strategy’s Grand Challenge Missions bring government, businesses and organisations across the country together to make a real difference to people’s lives. The Ageing Society Mission is to ensure that people can enjoy at least 5 extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035, while narrowing the gap between the experience of the richest and poorest; and the Clean Growth Mission is to at least halve the energy use of new buildings by 2030. The Good Work plan, announced in February 2018, set out how for the first time the government will be accountable for good quality work as well as the quantity of jobs, and that government recognises well-being as one of the five principles that underpin quality of work. In addition we have increased the National Living Wage to £7.83, whilst the UK has experienced the lowest unemployment rate since 1975.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

Richard Harrington: Application NameBEIStartMet Office weather appOrganisation BEIS HeadquartersMet OfficePurposeInduction materials for new starters at BEISTo help users access weather information and sever weather warnings promptly.Development costs in last 3 yearsNil Developed as a voluntary corporate contribution by Civil Servants£3.77 millionFurther Information N/AThis cost is offset by revenue from advertising across the Met Office’s digital channels. The revenue received in the last 3 years is £4.29 million.

Northern Ireland Office

Schools: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the number of schools in Northern Ireland that are in a financial deficit.

Mr Shailesh Vara: On 8 March, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland set out a NI budget position for 2018-19 to give clarity and certainty on NI finances for the year ahead. It provides a secure basis for protecting and preserving public services including in education which has seen spending protected in real terms for the 2018/19 financial year.Education is a devolved matter and while we have ensured that sufficient funding has been provided to maintain the overall schools budget at the same level as 2017-18, decisions on the allocation of that budget and the associated assessment of the financial position of individual schools are a matter for the Department of Education, and in the absence of the Executive, the Department’s Permanent Secretary.The Secretary of State and I remain firmly of the belief that the right way forward for decision making in Northern Ireland on critical issues such as the funding of schools lies in stable, fully functioning and inclusive devolved government and working towards restoring devolved government remains our top priority.

Northern Ireland Office: Peers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many members of the House of Lords hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within (i) his Department and (ii) his Department's agencies.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Two members of the House of Lords hold paid roles in the Northern Ireland Office. Lord Duncan of Springbank has been Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State since October 2017. Jonathan Caine has been Special Adviser since May 2010 and was created Lord Caine in September 2016. We do not hold a central record of all those who hold roles, either paid or unpaid, within the Department's agencies who are members of the House of Lords.

Northern Ireland Office: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by her Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Northern Ireland Office receives managed ICT services from IT Assist (ITA), which is a service provided by Enterprise Shared Services, a body within the Department of Finance, Northern Ireland. Any such applications would be developed by them. The information requested is, therefore, not held by this Department.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Drugs

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he has taken in negotiations on the UK leaving the EU to promote mutual access to medicines and drugs.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK is proposing a UK-EU free trade area, underpinned by a common rulebook. For industrial goods, including medicines, it would cover rules that set requirements for placing a product on the market. It would also feature bespoke provisions for human and animal medicines which reflect their unique status, and would be supplemented by continued UK participation in the European Medicines Agency. We look forward to continuing our negotiations with the EU on this issue.In the unlikely event that it is not possible to reach a mutually satisfactory deal with the EU, the Department of Health and Social Care has already set outs its plans in technical notices to ensure that patients can continue to access medicines, including recognising batch-testing carried out in the EU.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Meetings

Mr Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what proportion of business meetings arranged by the Directorate of Communications and Stakeholders were with small or small and medium enterprises in each year since his Department was established.

Mr Robin Walker: Ministers and officials continue to engage with companies of all sizes in all areas of the country and across a wide range of sectors. DExEU ministers have undertaken over 500 engagements since the Department was established.Details of ministerial and senior official business engagements are set out in the quarterly transparency returns.As many engagements take place at roundtable events where there is a cross-section of business present, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of category by size of businesses. Extensive engagement with small and small and medium enterprises is also undertaken through trade associations, representative organisations, and supply and logistics chains.Ministers have had regular engagement with SMEs through over 80 visits to all parts of the UK, and attended the BEIS SME Advisory Board. This ensures that we hear the issues and priorities of business of all sizes as we leave the European Union.

Brexit: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he has had discussions with the leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland on the Government’s plan for Northern Ireland in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Mr Robin Walker: Over the past months, UK Government Ministers and officials have met a range of stakeholders in Northern Ireland, including representatives of political parties, and made clear that while we are confident that we will agree a deal with the European Union, which remains by far the most likely outcome, it is the responsibility of the Government to continue preparations for the full range of potential outcomes, including no deal. As we do, and as decisions are made, we will take full account of the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland.In the event there was no deal, the UK Government is clear that we must respect our unique relationship with Ireland, with whom we share a land border and who are co-signatories of the Belfast Agreement. The UK Government has consistently placed upholding the Agreement and its successors at the heart of our approach and we will continue to do so while safeguarding the integrity of the United Kingdom and respecting the principle of consent.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many civil servants are working on his Department's papers to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department for Exiting the European Union now has over 650 staff based in the UK plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels working on EU exit work.The Department continues to recruit the brightest and the best from across the civil service, the wider public sector and the private sector. We regularly review headcount to ensure we are appropriately resourced to deliver the Department’s objectives to secure the best possible deal on the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU; and build a deep and comprehensive future partnership between the UK and the EU.

Attorney General

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the injunction granted by the Family Division of 22 June 2001 in respect of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, what applications to vary that decision have been made and on behalf of whom; how such applications were funded; and what grounds were given in support of each such application.

Mr Geoffrey Cox: In 2010, Jon Venables was arrested and charged, under his new identity, with offences relating to the viewing of child pornography. On 21 June 2010, in the context of those criminal proceedings, Mr Justice Bean amended the Injunction so as to prohibit the publication of information revealed in proceedings in open court, insofar as such information would be likely to lead to the identification of (a) Venables’ then-current name; (b) the address at which he was living immediately before his recall to prison in February 2010; (c) the location at which he was, at that time, being held in custody; or (d) his then-current appearance.Those amendments resulted from an application by Counsel for Jon Venables on the basis that revealing such information would be likely to lead to the identification of Jon Venables. I am unable to say how this application was funded because the variation was sought by a third partyAt a hearing at the Central Criminal Court on 23 July 2010 Mr Justice Bean varied the order, on the application of media organisations, to permit disclosure of the county in which Venables was living before his recall to custody. The purpose of this was to enable identification of the relevant police force and probation service involved in his supervision. I am unable to say how this application was funded because the variation was not sought by this office. At the same time, an application by News Group and Mirror Group Newspapers, who opposed the continued prohibition of the publication of Jon Venables’ new name, was heard and rejected.On 31 August 2012, on the application of the Secretary of State for Justice, the High Court amended the terms of the Injunction. This application would have been funded by central government. The amendment was made to ensure it prohibited any publication of a person purporting to be identified or depicted as Venables or Thompson.On 7 February 2018, Venables was sentenced to three years and four months’ imprisonment for three offences of making indecent photographs of children and one offence of possession of a paedophile manual. On 7 February, on the application of Jon Venables, Mr Justice Edis amended the Injunction to permit reporting of information heard in public at the hearing, though the amendments were such that the Injunction continues to protect the new identity and appearance of Venables and certain information which might be used to identify him. I am unable to say how this application was funded beause the varation was not sought by this officeThere is an application currently before the Family Court brought by Mr Ralph Stephen Bulger and Mr James Patrick Bulger to vary the Injunction. Various grounds have been provided in support of this application, and it is anticipated these grounds will be finalised in the applicants’ written submissions required to be filed in this case by 23 November 2018. I am unable to say how this application is funded because the variation is not sought by this office.

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the injunction granted by the Family Division of 22 June 2001 in respect of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, how many allegations for breach of that injunction have been received by his Department; on what dates and on behalf of whom such allegations were received; how communication of such allegations was funded; and what grounds were given in support of each such allegation.

Mr Geoffrey Cox: YearNumber of referrals for alleged breaches of the order2018252017122016120151201422013322012020111201012009-200302002120011 Allegations about breaches of the injunction protecting the identities of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson can be received from anybody, including members of the public, employers and law enforcement agencies. We are not aware of how they are funded if they are. Referrals are most often made on the basis that the injunction has been breached by the sharing of prohibited images or information purporting to identify Venables or his whereabouts.

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the injunction granted by the Family Division on 22 June 2001 in respect of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, what costs were incurred by his and other government departments in respect of matters relating to that injunction, including any amounts paid by way of the fees of any counsel and other disbursements.

Mr Geoffrey Cox: This question refers to costs incurred over a considerable period of time. The Government Legal Department (‘GLD’) has carried out a reasonable and proportionate interrogation of its digital records and has ascertained that the following costs have been incurred (all figures given exclude VAT):(1) On matters relating to applications to vary the Injunction:The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) incurred £16,767.40 on time spent by GLD, plus £19,990.01 on counsel’s fees and other disbursements.The Ministry of Justice incurred £432.00 on time spent by GLD on matters relating to the current application to vary the Injunction.(2) On matters relating to breaches of the Injunction:AGO incurred £33,620.90 on time spent by GLD, plus £30,240.36 on counsel’s fees and other disbursements.(3) On matters relating to the application of the Secretary of State for Justice in 2012 to vary the Injunction:The Ministry of Justice incurred £2,479.10 on time spent by GLD, plus £8,546.40 on counsel’s fees and other disbursements. These figures do not include any internal costs incurred by individual government departments in terms of time spent by their officials in matters relating to the Injunction.

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the injunction granted by the Family Division on 22 June 2001 in respect of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, what data security policies and procedures apply to his and other government departments and all counsel instructed in connection with that injunction, including communicating information by email; and what role his Department's Data Protection Officer and the data protection officers of other government departments play in instructing counsel in regard to data protection.

Mr Geoffrey Cox: The Attorney General’s Office and the Government Legal Department are bound by statutory obligations and act in accordance with publicly available policies on the gov.uk website, as well as the Subject Access Code of Practice published by the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is available here.The Attorney General’s guidelines on information security and government work that are followed by external counsel doing government work are available here.Guidance for handling protectively marked material that is followed by external counsel is available here.The Attorney General’s Office also has an internal Office Security Policy which is not published, because it contains very specific security information about the office necessary to protect information and staff which it would not be appropriate to publish.External counsel that do government work are data controllers in their own right with all the attendant responsibilities that entails. They are members of a professionally regulated body and formally undertake to maintain the integrity of the data that they handle.

Serious Fraud Office

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Attorney General, whether he has plans to conduct a review of the performance of the Serious Fraud Office.

Mr Geoffrey Cox: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is an independent organisation and is a key player in the response to economic crime, investigating and prosecuting some of the most serious and complex cases and recovering proceeds of crime, with a case conviction rate of over 83% during the past five years. The SFO continues to support the Government’s programme of reforms to improve our response, including the creation of the new National Economic Crime Centre. As the superintending Minister for the SFO, I regularly meet with the Director of the SFO where we discuss performance and key issues in relation to economic crime.The new Director of the SFO, Lisa Osofsky, joined the SFO last month and is committed to building on the existing successes of the SFO and continuing to support the multi-agency response to economic crime.

Department for International Development

India: Floods

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to support the Indian Government in its response to the flooding in Kerala state.

Alistair Burt: The UK is monitoring the flooding in India and our thoughts are with the people affected. The Indian Government is leading the response in providing humanitarian assistance. The multi-donor Start Fund, to which DFID is a major contributor, has activated £250,000 to respond to the Kerala emergency.

Palestinians: Schools

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the methodologies of the review of the Palestinian Authority's curriculum will include compliance with (a) Articles 1, 4.2 and 5 of the Declaration of principles on tolerance proclaimed and signed by the member states of UNESCO on 16 November 1995, (b) Principles 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the UN Declaration on the promotion among youth of the ideals of peace, mutual respect and understanding between peoples, signed in 1965, and (c) Articles 9 and 18 of the integrated framework for action on education for peace, human rights and democracy, approved by the general conference of UNESCO at the 28th session in Paris in November 1995.

Alistair Burt: We are in the process of commissioning the review and are considering the most robust methodology for conducting the textbook analysis. We will give consideration to relevant international agreements and previous high quality academic research when determining the final methodology. We will provide further detail on the methodology in due course.

Palestinians: Schools

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the review of the Palestinian Authority's curriculum has been commissioned.

Alistair Burt: We are in discussions with potential funding partners and research organisations and aim to commission the review as soon as possible, whilst ensuring value for money and a robust methodology. We will publish further information once the assessment has been commissioned.

Developing Countries: Renewable Energy

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to projects to develop renewable energy programmes in the poorest countries.

Harriett Baldwin: Since 2012, DFID has committed at least £782 million to the development of renewable energy. This includes bilateral projects and DFID contributions to those multilateral funds solely focused on energy. DFID has improved access to clean energy for an estimated 15.6 million people and installed an estimated 229 MW of clean energy capacity.

Department for Education

Students: Fees and Charges

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on the level of student debt of universities charging administration fees for courses.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Any fee charged by the particular institution in respect of administration, registration, tuition and graduation is subject to the maximum fee cap that a student may be charged, and it is for the institution to determine the level of their administration fee within that overall cap. There is nothing in legislation that compels a university to publish the breakdown of how the £9,250 maximum fee is constructed. However, the institution does have responsibility under Consumer Protection Law, to provide clear advice to students on fees/costs before they make a decision on whether they accept a course offer.

Schools: Staff

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effect of the public sector pay cap on the recruitment and retention of staff in schools.

Nick Gibb: The public sector pay cap is no longer in place and a more flexible approach to public sector pay has been adopted. The Department set out to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in their 2018 remit that they should utilise this flexibility to target the 2018 pay award towards promoting recruitment and retention. The STRB’s 28th report was published on 28 July. This, and the Government’s response to it, can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-teachers-review-body-28th-report-2018.   The Department has introduced changes to teachers’ pay that have been introduced over the last four years, following the STRB’s recommendations, to give greater autonomy to schools to decide how to reward their staff. This increased flexibility helps schools to attract and retain the best teachers and to target any school-level recruitment and retention problems they may have, including addressing teacher shortages in specific subjects. Research suggests that pay is not the main driver of teachers leaving, and teachers do not tend to leave for better paid jobs.

Arts: Vocational Guidance

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) careers advice and (b) information is provided by (i) his Department and (ii) schools to students considering careers in the creative arts.

Anne Milton: We launched the careers strategy last year which recognises that the UK’s fast-growing creative industries offer careers in a wide range of roles. Information on the careers in the creative arts is available from a number of sources. The National Careers Service provides independent, professional advice on careers, skills and the labour market. Employers and professional bodies in the creative arts sector can sign up to ‘Inspiring the Future’, run by the Education and Employers charity. This free programme allows volunteers to visit maintained schools to talk to pupils about their job. This will raise the profile of various careers within the creative arts sector. In addition, the Careers and Enterprise Company is making sure that every young person has access to inspiring encounters with the world of work, including work placements, work experience and other employer-based activities. It is offering support to schools by increasing the level of employer input into careers programmes.

Department for Education: Public Appointments

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department holds information on the socio-economic background of people appointed to senior positions in his Department in the last five years.

Anne Milton: The department does not hold information about the socio-economic background of its senior civil servants.

T-levels: Publicity

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of T-Levels with employers in advance of the 2020 start date for those qualifications.

Anne Milton: As part of the T Level panels, employers are at the heart of the programme and they play a key role in developing the outline content for the new programmes. We have also provided £5 million to the National Apprenticeship Service, who have widened their remit to offer an advice and support service for employers. This includes raising awareness and promoting the benefits of T Levels and industry placements to employers, including those that may not be actively engaged in education and training activities.As we move closer to delivery in 2020, we will increase the scale and pace of our communications with providers and employers to raise awareness of T Levels and how they fit in with other post-16 choices.

T-levels

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support employers to provide placements for T-level students.

Anne Milton: We have put in place a range of measures to make sure that employers are supported to offer T Level industry placements. This includes the National Apprenticeships Service who will provide a dedicated and fully trained team of account managers to provide advice and support to employers, and broker links with local education providers delivering industry placements during the current academic year. Education providers are receiving capacity and delivery funding in 2018-19 and 2019-20 to support their work with employers to deliver industry placements. In academic year 2017/18, we ran a pilot to test potential models for industry placements and understand delivery challenges and how to overcome them. This ran with 21 post 16 providers and up to 2000 students were involved with over 1000 employers offering placements in the 2017/18 academic year. The department has recently published a suite of online guidance and materials based on the learnings from this pilot to assist both providers and employers in delivering placements. We are establishing this support well in advance of the first T Levels being delivered in 2020.

Department for Education: Peers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many members of the House of Lords hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within (i) his Department and (ii) his Department's agencies.

Nadhim Zahawi: We do not hold this information for the Department for Education or its agencies. This is because we do not routinely capture it as part of the appointment process for paid and unpaid roles within the department or its agencies.

Academies

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 September 2018 to Question 168014 on Academies, whether academy schools that are in deficiency can be considered for education authority oversight.

Nadhim Zahawi: Financial accountability for academies is founded on a clear framework which is regulated by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).The ESFA has a robust intervention strategy to ensure, where financial concerns are identified, that appropriate and proportionate action is taken swiftly. The ESFA will intervene in a way that is proportionate to the risk and preserves the effective education of children.The department is satisfied that these arrangements provide robust financial oversight for academy trusts and we have no plans to change them.

Schools: Admissions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of school places in the London Borough of Barnet.

Nick Gibb: The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of school places as part of the annual school capacity survey. Data relating to the position in the 2017/18 academic year will be published in the new year.Data for May 2017 (relating to academic year 2016/17) can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-capacity-academic-year-2016-to-2017.The data shows that on 1 May 2017 there were 31,518 primary school places and 29,759 secondary school places in Barnet.

Department for Education: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being when formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national well-being in the last 12 months.

Nadhim Zahawi: The estimates of personal wellbeing by the Office of National Statistics are an excellent source of data on a range of aspects of children and young people’s lives and we endeavour to use the most relevant information to inform policy thinking wherever it is available.To improve the wellbeing of children, young people and adults, a number of recent policies have been introduced to make sure that all schools have access to mental health support. This includes 30 hours of free childcare for 3 and 4 year olds, the doubling of primary school’s PE and sport premium to £320 million per year since September 2017, and the investment of up to £26 million in a breakfast club programme which will establish or improve breakfast clubs in over 1,700 schools and will be targeted at the most disadvantaged areas of the country.

Department for Education: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

Anne Milton: There have been no mobile phone applications developed by the department and its agencies for use on corporate mobile phones in the last three years, therefore no cost has been incurred.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Public Appointments

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the socio-economic background of people appointed to senior positions in his Department in the last five years.

Edward Argar: The Government is committed to social mobility and we are committed to creating an organisation in which everybody can thrive. The Ministry of Justice does not currently hold data on the socio-economic background of staff appointed to senior positions but in line with the rest of the civil service is considering how best to implement the measures published in June (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/713738/Measuring_Socio-economic_Background_in_your_Workforce__recommended_measures_for_use_by_employers.pdf) to better understand the background of people appointed in senior positions.

Ministry of Justice: Peers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many members of the House of Lords hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within (i) his Department and (ii) his Department's agencies.

Edward Argar: We do not hold a central record of all those who hold roles, either paid or unpaid, who are members of the House of Lords

Succession: Dispute Resolution

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will assess the potential merits of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in relation to inheritance estate dispute cases in the civil court.

Lucy Frazer: The department supports the use of ADR in all appropriate cases and will be carefully considering the report of the Civil Justice Council on the greater use of ADR in the civil justice system in general when it is published later this year. The Ministry of Justice has no plans to carry out an assessment of the merits of alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) procedures, such as mediation, conciliation and expert determination in relation to inheritance disputes in the civil court. ADR procedures can be used to resolve inheritance estate disputes, whether or not they involve civil court proceedings. In all civil court proceedings, including those relating to inheritance, the Civil Procedure Rules require the court to further the overriding objective of dealing with cases justly and at proportionate cost. This includes encouraging the parties to use ADR, if the court considers that approach to be appropriate, and facilitating the use of the procedure.

Ministry of Justice: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

Edward Argar: No mobile phone applications have been developed by the MoJ in the last 3 years, and as a result there have been no development costs to the public purse.

Court of Protection

Anna Soubry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice,what the average time taken was to process an application for a Court of Protection case in each of the last five years.

Edward Argar: Data on timeliness of applications within the Court of Protection is not collected or held centrally within MOJ.

Ministry of Justice: Buildings

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2018 to Question 157090 on Ministry of Justice: Buildings, how many days each Minister of his Department spent in Petty France between 9 February 2018 and 9 March 2018.

Edward Argar: Between 9 February and 9 March Dr Phillip Lee MP spent 8 days in the Ministry of Justice; David Gauke MP 12 days; Lucy Frazer MP 15 days and Rory Stewart MP 9 days. Lord Keen has a dual role as Advocate General for Scotland and MoJ spokesperson in the House of Lords, as such, he spent 4 days in the department on Ministry of Justice business. All ministers are required to split their departmental time between 102 Petty France and other locations such as the House of Commons / Lords. The information provided is for days spent partially or entirely in 102 Petty France.

Department for International Trade

Agriculture: Imports

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the effect on the food and farming industry of allowing imported agricultural goods produced to lower standards than is required of UK producers.

George Hollingbery: The Government has been clear that we will maintain our high standards on food safety and environmental protection as part of any future trade deals. When it comes to products imported to the UK, quality and safety will continue to be paramount. Without exception, imports must meet all the relevant UK product rules and regulations.

Trade Agreements

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the oral statement of 16 July 2018, Official Report, column 41 on trade policy, how the findings from the public consultation process for future trade agreements will effect the trade negotiations.

George Hollingbery: As set out in the White Paper of 12th July 2018, and oral statement to Parliament delivered by my Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade on 16th July, the UK is preparing for an independent trade policy, including the ability to pursue bilateral trade agreements following EU exit on 29th March 2019.This includes the possibility to negotiate free trade agreements with the US, Australia and New Zealand, and potentially seeking accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).The Department for International Trade is committed to ensuring an inclusive and transparent trade policy. On 20th July 2018, it launched 14-week online public consultations. They provide everyone with an opportunity to share their views on these four potential future free trade agreements. The results of the initial consultations will inform the overall approach to our future trade relationship with the US, Australia, New Zealand and the CPTPP. If we launch formal negotiations with those partners, we will continue to engage with stakeholders on specific issues which may arise in the negotiation process.The Department is putting in place the appropriate mechanisms to ensure that due consideration is given to responses, so that they effectively inform our overall approach to negotiations with partner countries. Before entering into any formal negotiations the Government will publish an outline approach setting out the high level objectives.

UK Trade with EU

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal the UK will be able to trade on WTO terms immediately with the EU.

George Hollingbery: We are negotiating to secure an ambitious and comprehensive future economic partnership with the EU, which will allow frictionless movement of goods between the UK and the EU. In the event of “no deal”, we will immediately revert to WTO terms for trade with the EU.

Trade Agreements: Developing Countries

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of trade agreements the UK is a party to with developing countries in supporting those countries to (a) reduce poverty and (b) develop their economies.

George Hollingbery: Overall, the evidence is clear that openness to trade stimulates growth and helps to reduce poverty. The number of people living in extreme poverty globally has fallen by around one billion since 1990, and this could not have happened without the participation of developing countries in international trade.That is why this department is working closely with the Department for International Development to ensure development and global prosperity are at the heart of UK trade and investment policy and to help shape the UK’s future trade arrangements with developing countries.Our first priority is to deliver continuity in our trading arrangements with developing countries, to ensure that their, and our, producers and consumers face no disruption to trade. In the future, we will seek to deepen our trade relationships with developing countries.

Trade Agreements: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to his oral contribution of 16 July 2018, Official Report column 41, what the criteria are for the best process of engaging Parliament in the negotiation of future trade agreements; and whether he plans to include in that process a parliamentary vote on final such agreements.

George Hollingbery: The Government has made a strong commitment to transparency and inclusiveness for Parliament, the Devolved Administrations, businesses, civil society groups, trade unions and the public. Building on what we have already set out to Parliament, we are exploring the best process for engaging Parliament at every stage of future trade agreement negotiations.The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 will continue to apply as it does to all treaties subject to ratification. For each new future trade agreement requiring changes to legislation and where no powers exist, the Government will bring forward a bespoke piece of primary legislation when required.

Antidumping Duties: EU Law

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which EU anti-dumping regulations the Government plans to maintain after the UK leaves the EU are subject to an ongoing expiry review.

George Hollingbery: On 24 July 2018, the government published the provisional findings of the trade remedies call for evidence into which existing EU trade remedy measures matter to the UK, including details of which measures the government plans to maintain. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-to-identify-uk-interest-in-existing-eu-trade-remedy-measures Interested parties were invited to provide further information which may affect these findings. The government is currently considering this information. A list of EU measures currently subject to an expiry review can be found on the European Commission’s website: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/

Department for International Trade: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

George Hollingbery: The Department for International Trade (DIT) has not developed any mobile phone applications for the delivery of services since the department was founded in July 2016.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Local Government Finance

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of funding allocated to (a) Blackburn borough council (b) other local authorities in England.

Rishi Sunak: Over this spending period, councils will be able to access more than £200 billion to spend on local services; of this, Blackburn with Darwen Council will have available over £590 million. The majority of this funding is non-ringfenced as it is for local authorities who are independent of central government to manage their budgets in line with locally determined priorities.

Ministry of Defence

Yemen: Armed Forces

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of Ministry of Defence personnel deployed in Yemen; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: In February 2015 the Government decided to withdraw diplomatic staff and suspend the operations of the British Embassy in Sana'a. The Ministry of Defence's Defence Attaché currently operates from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and has not visited Yemen since 2015. As the previous Foreign Secretary said in his written statement of 23 May 2018 (HCWS716), the UK remains committed to supporting the legitimate security needs of Saudi Arabia and guarding against the danger of regional escalation. To this end we are providing information, advice and assistance to Saudi Arabia to respond to the threat from Houthi missiles fired from Yemen.

International Military Services: Accountancy

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons International Military Services Ltd financially reports under UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for small companies rather than the reporting standard for public bodies of International Financial Reporting Standards.

Stuart Andrew: International Military Services Ltd reports its annual accounts in accordance with the UK Government's guidance on preparing annual accounts for a private limited company. This states that a private limited company must meet either the UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice or the International Financial Reporting Standards.

International Military Services

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a list of government to government contracts through International Military Services Ltd that remain unresolved.

Stuart Andrew: The Ministry of Defence has no unresolved government to government contracts through International Military Services Ltd. International Military Services Ltd is a commercial company.

Iran: International Military Services

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will (a) publish the value of contingent liabilities relating to the ongoing dispute on the International Military Services Ltd debt to Iran and (b) identify the portion of that liability that relates to government to government contracts.

Stuart Andrew: There are no contingent liabilities to the ongoing dispute on the International Military Services Ltd debt to Iran. International Military Services Ltd is a commercial company and its published accounts identify provisions made for liabilities.

Ministry of Defence: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

Stuart Andrew: The information requested is not held centrally and will take time to collate and verify. I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

International Military Services

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the operations of International Military Services Ltd are fully subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.

Stuart Andrew: As a private limited company International Military Services Ltd are not subject to any additional Parliamentary scrutiny over any other private limited company.

International Military Services

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the audited accounts for the Government-owned International Military Services Ltd are not laid before Parliament.

Stuart Andrew: As with any other private limited company, International Military Services Ltd are not required to lay its accounts before Parliament.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Idlib, and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The UK is deeply concerned about the escalating military action by Russia and the Syrian Regime, and the impact on the almost three million civilians who are trapped in Idlib and the surrounding areas. We are particularly concerned by reports in the last few days of dozens of Russian airstrikes against areas of Idlib, reportedly hitting at least three hospitals and resulting in dozens of casualties.It is disappointing that Russia and Iran rejected President Erdogan's calls for renewed ceasefire in Tehran on 7 September. Russia and the Syrian Regime have also rejected similar calls by the UK and others at the UN Security Council. We call upon them to reconsider and find a negotiated way forward to avoid a humanitarian disaster.

Department for Work and Pensions

Unemployment: Young People

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the level of youth unemployment was in (a) 2010 and (b) 2018 to date.

Alok Sharma: The level of unemployment amongst people aged 16-24 years old has fallen to a record low. In the three months to July 2018 youth unemployment was 488,000 - down 451,000 (48%) from 939,000 before the 2010 election.

Pensioners: British Nationals Abroad

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that British citizens receiving a UK pension while living elsewhere in the EU continue to receive that pension after the UK leaves the EU.

Alok Sharma: The UK State Pension will remain payable worldwide under domestic legislation following our departure from the EU.

Universal Credit: Housing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to reduce waiting times for payments of universal credit to help ensure that tenants do not fall into rent arrears.

Alok Sharma: Research carried out by the National Federation of ALMOs shows over three quarters of their tenants come onto Universal Credit with pre-existing rent arrears.Arrears are usually temporary and the majority of claimants do succeed in paying their rent, managing their monthly payments and clearing their arrears over time. However, this year following the Autumn 2017 Budget, we have abolished waiting days and now provide 2 weeks of extra housing support to claimants moving to Universal Credit from Housing Benefit.The assessment period and payment structure of Universal Credit is integral to the overall design, which requires an assessment period of a month to assess earnings. Support is available in the first assessment period through the system of advances. We have also made changes to improve advances, and they can now be repaid over a course of 12 months and can consist of up to 100 per cent of the indicative monthly award from day one. Around 80 per cent of new claims are paid in full and on time. In many cases where full payment is not made on time, it is due to unresolved issues such as: claimants not accepting their Claimant Commitment or passing identity checks, or having outstanding verification issues, such as housing costs and self-employed earnings. Whilst their verification is on-going, many claimants receive a part payment for those elements of the claim that have been resolved.

Department for Work and Pensions: Peers

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many members of the House of Lords hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within (i) her Department and (ii) her Department's agencies.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department for Work and Pensions has one member of the House of Lords, holding a paid role. There is one member of the House of Lords, Whips Office holding an unpaid role in the department. This information is in the public domain and available to view online.

Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the criteria is for placing a person in the Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work category without attending a work capability assessment.

Alok Sharma: The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) advises DWP Decision Makers on whether a claimant has limited capability for work. CHDA can make its assessments based on scrutiny of available written information, including a questionnaire that the claimant is asked to complete, giving details of how their health condition or disability impacts on their day-to-day activities. Claimants are only asked attend a Work Capability Assessment where CHDA finds the available written information is inconclusive and is unable to advise, based on that evidence, how the claimant’s condition may impact upon their capability for work.

Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will lower the 40 per cent debt recovery level for people in receipt of universal credit that have children.

Alok Sharma: The Department recognises the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. However, there are no current plans to lower the maximum deduction rate. The Department always considers individual circumstances when applying debt repayment thresholds and seeks to recover debt without creating undue hardship. If a claimant is in financial difficulty as a result of the level of deductions, where it relates to benefit debt, a Social Fund loan or rent arrears, they can request that a reduction be considered. If a claimant is having difficulty repaying a benefit overpayment, they can request a reconsideration of the amount that is being taken where it can be shown that it would have an impact on any dependent children. Any reduction will be based on the individual circumstances of the claimant rather than the amount of the overpayment, which helps to ensure that a sustainable repayment plan based on affordability is put in place.

Children: Maintenance

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Service Requests for (a) a new child maintenance scheme claim, (b) a change of circumstances, (c) a variation request, (d) chasing arrears, and (e) undertaking enforcement action remain outstanding in the 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme computer system.

Justin Tomlinson: As at the end of August 2018 the following CMS case SRs remained outstanding; Applications8,518Change of Circumstances89,518Variations4,469Arrears38,354Enforcement36,975

Children: Maintenance

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hours the Child Maintenance System has been (a) unavailable to staff and (b) working with reduced performance in the last six months.

Justin Tomlinson: We record all incidents where the 2012 Child Maintenance Service has not been available for staff. Over the last six months, this has been: MonthMinutes lostHours Lost% AvailabilityMarch123020.597.73%April00100.00%May1031.7299.70%June300.599.93%July300.599.91%Aug180399.62% Although we manage periods of reduced performance as incidents, there is no formal measure for degraded service as these may impact sub-sets of system users differently.

Children: Maintenance

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many processing hours for Child Maintenance service requests were lost as a result of (a) technical and (b) IT faults in the last six months.

Justin Tomlinson: We record all incidents where the 2012 Child Maintenance System has not been available to staff but we are unable to analyse this data by technical and IT faults. On average over the last six months, the hours lost have been 4.37 hours per month.

Children: Maintenance

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has plans to undertake an assessment of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Scheme computer system; and if she will make a statement.

Justin Tomlinson: The effectiveness of the Department’s systems including the 2012 Child Maintenance System is continuously reviewed. A service improvement programme was established in April 2018 and has resulted in better performance, more stability, fewer incidents and a reduction in known problems.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Genetically Modified Organisms: EU Law

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that the Deliberate Release Directive continues to be enacted after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The requirements of Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms will continue to apply in the UK after we leave the EU by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

Livestock Industry

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential productivity of the livestock industry over the next six months.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential productivity of the arable industry over the next six months.

George Eustice: 2018 has been a challenging year for the UK farming sector. The year started with a prolonged cold spell which in some parts of the country necessitated the prolonged feeding of stock. In addition spring planting of crops was delayed in many parts of the country. The cold spell was followed by hot and dry weather during June and July that facilitated the early and quick harvest of winter crops, but impeded grass growth causing farmers to start feeding first cut silage and raising concerns about the availability of supplies of winter fodder.   Among crop farmers, the picture is mixed; overall there are reductions expected in 2018 crop yield and there may be concerns over quality, especially in relation to spring planted crops and oilseed rape. The situation, however, is highly variable depending on local soil conditions and rain deficit and for some the decrease in yield and quality is expected to be offset by an increase in price and by lower costs, for example, of grain drying.   The main impact of the recent drought conditions is likely to be felt by the grazing livestock sector facing a shortage of fodder. The full extent, however, of the impacts will not be realised until later in the year and it will also be the case that such impacts are likely to be specific to the individual circumstances of farmers in terms the level of stock and feed on-farm and the impact of the drought on local feed supply relative to previous years.   We have prioritised practical solutions to help farmers increase access to fodder and bedding through flexibilities in scheme rules both now and in the coming months. These actions will help farmers to limit the impact of extra feed costs by allocating land to forage growth and grazing. We will keep the situation under review for both arable and livestock sectors.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being when formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national well-being in the last 12 months.

George Eustice: In line with the Government’s Green Book, Defra policy is appraised and developed using an assessment of costs and benefits. This appraisal is based on improving well-being. Policy makers and analysts use a range of data sources in making this assessment, which can include ONS estimates of personal well-being. Defra recognises that the quality of the environment underpins our well-being and prosperity. During the last 12 months we have introduced a range of actions to improve well-being, including those set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Clean Air Strategy.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

George Eustice: This information is not held centrally.

Water

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will estimate how much water was lost due to leaks in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The total amount of water leaked from water companies’ supply networks in each of the last ten years are shown in the following table. This information is based on Environment Agency analysis of data from water companies that operate wholly or mainly in England. Recent leakage figures are available on Discover Water: https://discoverwater.co.uk/leaking-pipes. YearTotal leakage(Millions of litres / day)2008-0930882009-1030842010-1131562011-1229492012-1329632013-1429162014-1529422015-1628962016-1729182017-182986 The Secretary of State for the Environment in July called in water company Chief Executives who did not meet their leakage targets this year to explain this failure and what actions they were taking to improve their performance, particularly in light of the dry weather. They committed to tackle leakage as a priority. The 25 year environment plan sets out the Government’s ambitions for reducing demand on water resources. This includes support for Ofwat’s target for water companies to reduce leakage by 15% by 2025. In their draft Business Plans water companies have proposed an average reduction of 16% by 2025. It is now for Ofwat to scrutinise these plans.

Home Office

Unexplained Wealth Orders

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unexplained wealth orders are in force; and what the total value of the assets covered by those orders is.

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish a list of the people, companies or other entities on whom unexplained wealth orders have been served; and if he will list the assets concerned for each of those orders.

Mr Ben Wallace: Three UWOs have been applied for, and all granted, since the power came into force in January. All these applications were made without notice and heard in private.They relate to the investigation of assets totalling £22 million. Interim freezing orders have also been obtained against the properties, in London and the South East, so they cannot be sold, As the orders all relate to ongoing investigations, it would be inappropriate to release further information at the moment. The annual Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin, published on 13 September, will include data on the number of UWOs obtained in the previous financial year.

Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of all birth registrations being conducted in a sure start centre or equivalent family support centre; and whether it is his Department's policy to have all registrations take place in those centres.

Caroline Nokes: The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 provides for every child’s birth to be recorded in a register kept for the sub-district in which the child was born.Related legislation allows for the registration to take place in a wide range of premises such as Town Halls, hospitals, libraries and children’s centres. It is a matter for local authorities to determine the locations in which births are registered and to tailor their services to best meet the needs of their local community.

Metals: Theft

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the extent to which the banning of cash transactions from the scrap metal sector has helped reduce metal theft.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 provides the legislative basis for tackling metal theft across England and Wales. The banning of cash payments for scrap metal is one of several measures in the Act.The Government has conducted a review of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 to assess its effectiveness in tackling and reducing metal theft. The review concluded that the measures in the Act have contributed to the falls in levels of metal theft since its introduction, and provides a strong legislative basis for action.A report setting out the findings of the review was published by the Government on 11 December 2017.

Asylum: Housing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that people seeking asylum are not required to share bedrooms under the new asylum accommodation contracts.

Caroline Nokes: The forthcoming Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts will permit the use of room sharing for some service users, providing it complies with the strict criteria set out in the contracts Statement of Requirements.This includes compliance with relevant national and local housing regulations including any advice from social services and primary and secondary care bodies on whether room sharing is inappropriate for individual cases. In addition Providers will continue to be required to ensure they take into account a service users individual characteristics and provide them with appropriate accommodation reflective of any changing needs, including adherence to religious practice.

Asylum: Housing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that asylum (a) accommodation and (b) facilities support adequately vulnerable people seeking asylum.

Caroline Nokes: All applicants for asylum support and accommodation are asked to declare any specialist circumstance or specific accommodation requirements as part of the consideration of their initial application form. In accordance with our published policy, the Home Office will carefully consider all requests on a case by case basis from asylum seekers who may have particular vulnerabilities, care needs or health problems that necessitate a need for a specific location or specialist accommodation requirements. Further details regarding this policy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-accommodation-requests-policyA further ongoing assessment of needs is undertaken by asylum accommodation providers commencing upon initial entry into accommodation. All asylum accommodation Providers are contractually required to take account of any particular circumstances and vulnerability of those that they accommodate, including those who have health care issues. In addition Providers must comply with national and local housing regulations including advice from social services and primary and secondary care bodies on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific needs of the individual.A property inspection process forms part of the Home Office’s contract compliance regime which ensures that the required performance standards expected of all providers are met. Where inspected property does not meet the required standards there are strict time limits on resolving property defects; failure to meet those time limits can result in service credits being applied through financial deduction from monthly invoices. These are monitored formally, on a monthly basis, at Contract Management meetings between the providers and representatives of UK Visas and Immigration.

Asylum: Housing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to ensure the monitoring of the (a) quality and (b) effectiveness of the housing provided under the new ten-year asylum contracts.

Caroline Nokes: The forthcoming Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts, include clearly defined performance standards measured through a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set within a wider Performance Management Regime (PMR) that will ensure the safety and wellbeing of all Service Users.This will include ensuring that accommodation is ‘Safe’, ‘Habitable’, and ‘Fit for Purpose’ and is delivered in accordance with the Decent Home Standard, the Welsh Housing Quality Standard and the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. Accommodation providers will also be required to ensure that accommodation meets any other statutory housing standards which are applicable in the specified contract region and is compliant with any Local Authority licensing requirements whilst the property is used to accommodate Service Users.A property inspection and audit process will form part of the Home Office’s contract compliance regime which will ensure that the required performance standards expected of all providers are met. Where inspected property does not meet the required standards, there are strict contractual time limits on resolving property defects; failure to meet those time limits could result in service credits being applied through financial deduction from monthly invoices. These will be monitored formally, on a monthly basis, at Contract Management meetings between the providers and representatives of UK Visas and Immigration.

Asylum: Housing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities have made representations to his Department on the new asylum accommodation contracts; and whether his Department has received representations on those contracts from the Local Government Association.

Caroline Nokes: To continue to meet UKVI’s obligation to provide accommodation & support to destitute asylum seekers, the Asylum Accommodation and Support Transformation (AAST) project has been established to design, develop and procure the future model for asylum accommodation and support, replacing the existing COMPASS arrangements when they expire in Sept 2019.Since the establishment of the project in the autumn of 2016, there has been extensive engagement with strategic stakeholders, including Strategic Migration Partnerships, Local Authorities and Non-Government Organisations to identify a range of enhancements and improvements to the existing model which have been reflected in the design of the next generation of contracts.We estimate that there have been over 60 separate stakeholder events or written exercises undertaken since autumn 2016. Details of the feedback provided by individual stakeholders from this engagement could only be provided at disproportionate cost by examination of individual correspondence, event minutes and records.

Asylum: Housing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has undertaken an equality impact assessment of its policy on room sharing in asylum accommodation.

Caroline Nokes: The Government expects the highest standards from our contractors and Providers are monitored closely to ensure they continue to meet these standards. There are strict criteria set out in the current asylum accommodation contracts around when room sharing can take place and who can share a room.Providers must also comply with national and local housing regulations including advice from social services and primary and secondary care bodies on whether room sharing is inappropriate for individual cases and discussions about equality impacts form part of regular engagement with stakeholder groups.The COMPASS contracts and their associated procurement exercise defined the required performance standards expected of all providers including sensitivity of equality impacts. Equality assessments with regard to room sharing elements of the contract have not been undertaken in isolation from wider contract tendering and management processes.

Cannabis-based Medicines Expert Review Panel

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications have been made to the cannabis-based medicines expert panel since it was announced on 19 June 2018.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for the prescription of cannabis-based medicine the cannabis-based medicines expert panel has approved since the panel's establishment was announced on 19 June 2018.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many inquiries by members of the public have been made to the cannabis-based medicines expert panel since the panel's establishment was announced on 19 June 2018.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for the prescription of cannabis-based medicine have been reviewed by the cannabis-based medicines expert panel since the panel's establishment was announced on 19 June 2018.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times the cannabis-based medicines expert panel has met since its establishment.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff are employed by the cannabis-based medicines expert panel.

Mr Nick Hurd: The number of applications to the panel has been small. The low number means that there is a significant risk that disclosure of even aggregate information about the applications could be linked to personal details (made available through media reporting). For this reason, in accordance with the Home Office’s duty to protect these individuals, neither the actual number of applications nor the number approved can be disclosed.As of 11 September 2018 there have been forty four inquiries to the expert panel mailbox from members of the public.There are currently eight members of the Expert Panel.The Expert Panel have met six times since its establishment.

Visas: Temporary Employment

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people overstayed temporary working visas in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not publish statistics on people who overstay. Visa data relating to Tier 5 – temporary worker and youth mobility are published in entry clearance tables volume 1, table vi_01_q and can be found via the following link. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/734162/entry-visas1-jun-2018-tables.ods

Passports: EU Nationals

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has plans to stamp the passports of EU nationals at UK airports after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: While we cannot comment on detailed planning, Government departments are working together across a range of complex issues to develop our future approach at the border. These options will be kept under review in light of negotiations with the EU.

Borders: Personal Records

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has plans to reintroduce Electronic System for Travel Authorisations (ESTA) for EU nationals visiting the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: The Government is considering a range of options for the future border and immigration system, and will set out further details later this year

Fire and Rescue Services

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the benefits of standardising the method for recording fire service response times in England.

Mr Nick Hurd: Each time a fire and rescue service (FRS) attends an incident in England, details of that incident are uploaded to the Home Office’s Incident Recording System (IRS) by the FRS and this is used as the source for all the statistics in the response times publication https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/response-times-to-fires-attended-by-fire-and-rescue-services-england-april-2016-to-march-2017The response time is defined as the duration from time of call to time of arrival of the first vehicle at the scene of the incident and is standard for all FRSs. FRSs set their own targets for local response times which may not include the call time, however this should not affect records in the IRS.

Fire and Rescue Services: Mental Health Services

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will provide additional funding to Fire Authorities for firefighter mental health services.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is the responsibility of each fire and rescue authority in England to ensure that they have appropriate support and wellbeing provisions in place which reflect the specific needs of their workforce.However, since 2014, the Government has provided £7m to pay for mental health support through Mind’s Blue Light Programme to ensure our emergency services workers, including fire service employees, have the counselling and emotional support they require.

Immigration Controls: Airports

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to ensure EU passengers continue to have specific immigration lanes at UK airports after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: While we cannot comment on detailed planning, Government departments are working together across a range of complex issues to develop our future approach at the border. These options will be kept under review in light of negotiations with the EU.

Home Office: Public Appointments

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the socio-economic background of people appointed to senior positions in his Department in the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: The Department does not routinely hold the information requested. To determine the socio-economic background of civil servants appointed to senior positions would incur disproportionate cost.

Refugees: Families

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of visas granted in 2017 for refugee family reunion under part 11 of the Immigration Rules were used.

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas for refugee family reunion were granted outside the rules in 2017.

Caroline Nokes: Statistics on refugee family reunion can be found in Home Office Asylum tables volume 5, table as_21_q – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/734178/asylum5-jun-2018-tables.odsInformation can also be found in the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration re-inspection of the family reunion process, focusing on applications received at the Amman Entry Clearance Decision Making Centre: :https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/737724/Final_Artwork_Reinspection_Family_Reunion_Amman.pdf

Refugees: Syria

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2018 to Question 170888 on Refugees: Syria, what proportion of Syrian refugees of each religious group recommended to be resettled by the UNHCR the UK agreed to resettle in each of the last four years.

Caroline Nokes: The UK’s resettlement programmes follow the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality, which means that we resettle solely based on needs identified by UNHCR through their established processes, rather than on the basis of ethno-religious originWe do not routinely publish a religious and ethnic breakdown of those who have been resettled, however internal management information indicates the proportions of Syrian refugees who are recommended for resettlement and those who are subsequently accepted for resettlement are broadly consistent across religious denominations

Hare Coursing

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the powers available to the police to tackle hare coursing.

Mr Nick Hurd: The police have a range of powers to tackle hare coursing through the game acts and the Hunting Act 2004. How these powers are used are operational matters for the police. In light of concerns raised, Home Office officials are engaging with relevant police forces to understand more about the issues.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Migration Advisory Committee report entitled International Students in the UK, published on 11 September 2018, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the recommendations in that report; and if he will make statement.

Caroline Nokes: We are grateful to the Migrant Advisory Committee for their balanced and comprehensive review into International Students in the UK.We will be carefully considering the recommendations made in the report and will be responding in due course.

Department of Health and Social Care

Lyme Disease

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the adoption of the NICE recommendations for all doctors' surgeries to declare the number of patients diagnosed with Lyme Disease.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of Lyme disease in April 2018. Although guidelines are not mandatory, when exercising their judgement, clinicians are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences and values of their patients. NICE’s guideline does not recommend that doctors' surgeries should declare the number of patients diagnosed with Lyme Disease, but includes a research recommendation for “a large clinico-epidemiological study to collect data on incidence, presenting clinical features, management and outcome of Lyme disease in community and hospital settings in the UK”. NICE’s research recommendations are designed to identify potential gaps in evidence to researchers working in specific areas.

Independent Living Fund

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether local authorities in England are continuing to receive the former Independent Living Fund recipient grant announced in May 2016; and how the spending of this grant is being monitored.

Caroline Dinenage: Local authorities in England are continuing to receive the former Independent Living Fund (ILF) recipient grant announced in May 2016. At the time of the ILF’s closure there were agreed support packages for English ILF users amounting to £186 million for 2015/16. To calculate the on-going funding, set out in the following table, the Government used the now-closed ILF Trust’s financial model that predicted that commitments will decline year on year, as former users no longer need access to funding. Although this funding is not ring-fenced, the Government is providing funding to allow councils to continue to fund care packages to former ILF users. It is local authorities who are best placed to decide how best to provide funding and support to their local citizens. £177 million2016/17£171 million2017/18£166 million2018/19£161 million2019/20

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of cancer patients received treatment within the 62-day target after an urgent GP referral in each region in each of the last five years.

Stephen Barclay: NHS England publishes quarterly performance data on cancer waiting times standards. This includes the numbers and proportion of patients treated within the 62-day urgent general practitioner (GP) referral to a first treatment for cancer 85% standard, by each clinical commissioning group. This data is attached on an annual basis for the last five years (2013-14 to 2017-18). There has been a continuing rise in demand for cancer services, with urgent GP referrals for cancer rising by over 43% comparing 2013-14 to 2017-18.



PQ170803
(Excel SpreadSheet, 58 KB)

Medicine: Students

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of medical students who plan to practise overseas after they have completed their training in the UK.

Stephen Barclay: Doctors can choose to leave the United Kingdom and work abroad at any point during their training or career. The UK Foundation Programme Office undertakes an annual survey of doctors in the UK before they complete their two years of foundation training. This is the only source of comprehensive data on this subject. In 2017, just over 400 of respondents stated that they intended to practice overseas after completing their foundation training. That is around 6% of respondents, down from 11-12% in 2015 and 2016.

Defibrillators

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to introduce a national register of publicly available defibrillators.

Steve Brine: In August 2018 the British Heart Foundation (BHF) formally announced £4.5 million of funding for a partnership with NHS England, NHS Scotland, Microsoft and ambulance services to establish a national database of Public Access Defibrillators (PAD) and to make this available to ambulance services. This database will later be offered to all services once shown to be safe and effective. The principal intention is to make the data available to, and controlled by, ambulance services, so that PAD location information is readily available when someone makes a 999 call. The BHF is developing the database with full professional guidance and with the support of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives. The database will be piloted by West Midlands Ambulance Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service, before being rolled out across the United Kingdom. The database will launch in spring 2019 when PAD owners will be able to register their PAD onto the database through their local ambulance service. The database will include detailed locations of PADs across the UK, which will allow ambulance services to direct bystanders of a cardiac arrest to the nearest one. It will also act as a network so that PAD owners can support each other in relation to PAD maintenance. This partnership will help people to access life-saving equipment, and will support NHS staff and the public when attempting to save the lives of people who suffer cardiac arrest out of hospital.

NHS: Overtime

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the amount of unpaid overtime worked by NHS staff in each of the last five years for which information is available.

Stephen Barclay: The Department estimates the amount of unpaid overtime worked by National Health Service staff from self reported information in the NHS Staff Survey. The following table shows this data for each of the last five years.YearPercentage of staff working additional unpaid hours (%)Up to 5 hours (%)6-10 hours (%)11 or more hours (%)201357.6044104201459.2244125201560.4845125201659.0745104201758.3444104 We recognise and value the commitment of NHS staff in serving patients and the public. For staff employed under Agenda for Change (AfC) Section 3 of the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook gives a right to overtime payment or time off in lieu (TOIL). The recently agreed NHS Employers framework agreement states “Employing organisations will work in partnership with trade unions to introduce local mechanisms to guarantee access to those annual leave and TOIL provisions set out in the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service handbook.” (paragraph 6.1). It is available at the following link: http://www.nhsemployers.org/your-workforce/2018-contract-refresh/framework-agreement This work will be taken forward by the NHS Staff Council this year. It is envisaged the Council will examine if there are issues with staff being unable to take their annual leave or TOIL and look at guidance. The Handbook already contains a provision which states that if TOIL cannot be taken within three months it should be paid at overtime rates (Section 3 paragraph 5).

General Practitioners

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many practising GPs there were in England per 100,000 population in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: The requested information is presented in the following table. Retainers, registrar and locum numbers are not comparable across the timescale requested and have therefore been excluded.  All practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars and locums) headcount per 100,000 population201366.5201466.5201565.5201663.6201762.0Source: NHS Digital Notes: All data as at 30 September for the relevant year.Prior to 2015 figures are sourced from National Health Application and Infrastructure Services general practitioner (GP) Payments (Exeter) System. From 2015 figures are sourced from the workforce Minimum Dataset and include estimates for missing data.GP Headcount per 100,000 population figures calculated based on the Office for National Statistics figures for England population that were available at the time the relevant GP headcount figures were originally published.

NHS: Finance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) NHS trusts and (b) NHS foundation trusts that will be in deficit at the end of the 2018-19 financial year; and whether he projects the NHS trust sector as a whole to be in deficit at the end of that year.

Stephen Barclay: It is for National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts to agree their 2018-19 plans locally with commissioners. NHS England and NHS Improvement have been leading the annual planning process for 2018-19, and have worked with providers and commissioners to produce a balanced plan for 2018-19. NHS Improvement published their Quarter 1 assessment of the NHS providers' plans in the ‘quarterly performance of the NHS provider sector’ on 11 September 2018. This is available at the following link: https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/quarterly-performance-nhs-provider-sector-quarter-1-201819/ The long-term plan being developed by NHS leaders, clinicians, and health experts is expected to work towards ensuring no NHS organisation is in financial deficit.

NHS: Roads

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of damage caused by potholes on the NHS estate in which year for which information is available; and what recent assessment he has made of trends in that level of cost.

Stephen Barclay: The data requested is not collected centrally. National Health Service organisations are locally responsible for the condition of their roads and car parks, which will includes potholes and are expected to keep their estate in an appropriate condition.

NHS: Hospitals

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS hospitals in England operated consistently at a patient occupancy level of 98 per cent or higher in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Stephen Barclay: Information is not available in the format requested as data surrounding National Health Service hospital patient occupancy levels is not collected centrally. However, NHS England collects quarterly data from all NHS organisations on available overnight and day only beds and the total number of occupied bed days by consultant led specialty, excluding critical care beds. Average annual bed occupancy for each NHS provider, from 2010/11 to 2017/18, is shown in the attached table. Hospitals are dealing with patients more efficiently and it is normal for bed availability to fluctuate, but the NHS has practice and experience in managing capacity to cope with both routine and emergency care.



PQ170945 attached document
(Excel SpreadSheet, 53.51 KB)

Princess Alexandra Hospital Harlow: Nurses

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses were employed at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Stephen Barclay: The information is not held centrally. NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics by staff group and trust level, but this data does not go to the level of individual hospital sites, such as the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many A&E Departments in NHS hospitals treated more than 300 patients per day in (a) Harlow, (b) Essex (c) the East of England and (d) England in each of the last five years.

Stephen Barclay: A count of National Health Service hospital provider sites with an average of over 300 accident and emergency (A&E) attendances per day in Harlow, Essex, East of England and England, in the financial years 2012-13 to 2016-17, is shown in the following table. Due to coding issues within NHS Digital’s Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset, as well as some providers running multiple A&E departments from the same hospital site, there may be undercounts within the data. Figures shown are representative of the number of admissions, not the number of individual patients as a person may have more than one attendance within the time periods shown: Area2012-132013-142014-152015-162016-17Harlow-----Essex--111East of England--233England4346556366Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Digital

Orkambi

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps the Government has taken to ensure that (a) negotiations between Vertex Pharmaceuticals and NHS England on access to Orkambi for people with cystic fibrosis proceed without further delay and (b) an agreement is reached between the two parties.

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of 17 July 2018, Official Report, column 384, what progress the Government has made on access to Orkambi in England since Vertex Pharmaceuticals was called on to accept NHS England’s proposal to make that drug available to people with cystic fibrosis.

Steve Brine: It is crucial that patients have access to the most effective and innovative medicines at a price that represents value to the National Health Service. While Ministers are keeping a very close eye on negotiations, it is the responsibility of NHS England as the commissioner and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as the independent body that is responsible for making recommendations on whether drugs and other treatments represent a clinically and cost-effective use of NHS resources, to work with Vertex to agree a deal to secure the best outcome for patients and a price for Orkambi that is fair and responsible. NHS England has proposed its best offer ever for a drug. This offer, in the region of £500 million over five years, is the largest ever commitment of its kind in the 70-year history of the NHS. This would guarantee immediate and expanded access to both Orkambi and the drug Kalydeco for patients who need it. Whilst it is disappointing that Vertex has not taken up NHS England’s offer, we are pleased to hear that it has responded positively to NHS England’s and NICE’s latest offer to meet. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Lord O’Shaughnessy), the Secretary of State for Health (Rt. hon. Matt Hancock MP) and I have and continue to urge Vertex to reconsider this fair offer.

Department of Health and Social Care: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being when formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national well-being in the last 12 months.

Steve Brine: In developing policy, the Department draws on a range of analytical sources, as well as published and unpublished evidence. The Government is committed to improving the health of the population through all its policies.

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have (a) been referred to and (b) joined the NHS diabetes prevention programme.

Steve Brine: The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme commenced roll out in June 2016 and, at the end of July 2018, 252,130 at risk individuals have been referred into the service and 107,254 individuals have now had an initial assessment. In 2018/19 the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme achieved full national roll out, with services available to patients in every sustainability and transformation partnership in England.

Diabetes and Obesity

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to provide specialist bariatric weight assessment and management clinics for patients (a) with diabetes and (b) that are classified as obese.

Steve Brine: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning complex obesity services for adults, which include all bariatric surgical procedures and the associated care. Children’s bariatric surgery remains the responsibility of NHS England Specialised Services. When developing their associated commissioning policies and treatment criteria, we would expect CCGs to take into account any relevant current guidance, and consider the wider context of their actions which may include the costs incurred as a result of setting criteria which may deny or delay treatment for patients requiring bariatric surgery.

Sexually Transmitted Infections: Screening

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the number of online-ordered tests for sexually transmitted infections which the NHS plans to provide in London in (a) 2018 and (b) each of the next five years.

Steve Brine: Data on the detail of local authority contracts including online-ordered tests are not held centrally. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning open access sexual health services.

Ambulance Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times ambulance technicians (a) accompanied (i) paramedics and (ii) emergency care assistants on an ambulance call-out and (b) attended an ambulance call-out without a paramedic or emergency care assistant in each of the last three years.

Stephen Barclay: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Surgery: Costs

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost to the NHS was of a (a) hip replacement, (b) knee replacement, (c) cataract operation and (d) hernia operation in each of the last three years.

Stephen Barclay: Data for the estimated average unit cost to National Health Service providers in 2014-15 to 2016-17 for a hip replacement, knee replacement, cataract operation and hernia operation is shown in the following table. The data is sourced from reference costs, which are the average unit cost to the NHS of providing defined services to NHS patients in England in a given financial year.  Average unit cost per one finished consultant episode 2014-152015-162016-17Hip replacement£6,793£7,090£7,032Knee replacement£5,944£6,253£6,181Cataract operation£747£805£811Hernia operation£2,193£2,331£2,308The costs cover one episode of care under one consultant and do not include other elements of the patient pathway such as outpatient appointments. Data for 2017-18 is not yet available.

NHS: Private Sector

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of the NHS budget has been spent (a) in the private sector and (b) on contracts awarded to the private sector since May 2010.

Stephen Barclay: The Department does not hold the information as requested. Total spending by National Health Service commissioners on private health providers since 2008/09 for which figures are available is shown in the attached table.



PQ171465 attached table
(Word Document, 19.7 KB)

NHS Walk-in Centres

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people visited an NHS walk-in centre in each year since 2004-05.

Stephen Barclay: Information is not available in the format requested. Since 2004-05, NHS England has published quarterly and annual data on the number of attendances at Type 3 accident and emergency department’s. This includes attendees to walk-in centres but also to services such as minor injury units. This is available at national level via the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2018-19/

General Practitioners

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GPs closed their surgeries to new patients in each of the last six years for which figures are available.

Steve Brine: The number of general practitioner (GP) practices that closed their surgeries to new patients can be found in the following table. 2016/172017/18Number of GP practices with closed practice lists145106 The number of GP practices with closed practice list was not held before 2016/17.

NHS: Redundancy

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department spent on NHS staff redundancies in each year since 2011-12.

Stephen Barclay: The total cost of National Health Service compulsory redundancies and ‘other departures’ since 2011-12 to 2012-13 and the total cost of NHS redundancies, both compulsory and voluntary, from 2013-14 is as follows: YearTotal cost (£000s)2011-12417,2902012-13429,7022013-14142,0642014-15144,4192015-1689,3702016-1764,7252017-1864,394 Years 2011-12 and 2012-13 include NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities. Years 2013-14 to 2017-18 include NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts, NHS England and clinical commissioning groups. Clinical commissioning group data is consolidated with NHS England data and cannot be disaggregated. ‘Other departures’ include voluntary redundancies, as well as the following categories of exit package payments:- mutually agreed resignations contractual costs;- early retirements in the efficiency of the service contractual costs;- contractual payments in lieu of notice;- exit payments following employment tribunals or court orders; and- non-contractual payments requiring HM Treasury approval.

Department of Health and Social Care: World Trade Organisation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have met officials from the World Trade Organisation since the EU referendum in June 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Since the European Union referendum on 23 June 2016, there have been no official level meetings between Ministers or officials in the Department and officials from the World Trade Organization (WTO). Although no official level meetings have taken place with the WTO, the Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department of International Trade to ensure that its positions and the United Kingdom’s health policy are considered in all discussions relating to this area.

Food Standards Agency: World Trade Organisation

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether officials from the Food Standards Agency have met officials from the World Trade Organisation since the EU referendum in June 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Since the European Union referendum on 23 June 2016, Food Standards Agency officials have met officials from the World Trade Organization’s “Standards and Trade Development Facility” on various panels, and in the margins, of international food safety related meetings and conferences. Specifically, officials met at a United States Food and Drug Administration Public Hearing in Washington, D.C. in February 2017, at the Global Food Safety Conference in Tokyo in March 2018, and at a Codex physical working group meeting on international food standards held in Edinburgh in May 2018.

Cabinet Office

Devolution: Northern Ireland and Scotland

Alan Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what powers are devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly but not to the Scottish Parliament.

Mr David Lidington: The devolution settlements for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are each unique. Areas that are devolved in one part of the UK may not be devolved in another. This reflects the history and development of the different devolution settlements across the UK. Powers are devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly but not to the Scottish Parliament in the following areas: - Energy production and supply- Employment law- All social security (some elements of social security are devolved in Scotland)- Child support- Pensions- Northern Ireland Civil Service- Equal opportunities (equal opportunities in relation to public bodies is devolved in Scotland)- Time (for example timescales, time zones and the subject-matter of the Summer Time Act 1972)  There are also powers which are devolved to the Scottish Parliament and not to the Northern Ireland Assembly, including stamp duty, Landfill tax, management of Crown Estate assets and some income tax.

Infrastructure: Cybercrime

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many successful cyber attacks were launched against critical national infrastructure organisations in each of the last four years.

Mr David Lidington: Ensuring UK Critical National Infrastructure is secure and resilient against cyber attack is a priority for the Government. The NCSC has responded to a number of incidents impacting CNI companies and their supply chains since its creation including close working with companies on mitigation. Definitive figures on the number of cyber attacks launched against CNI organisations are not available.

Government: Digital Technology

Jo Platt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what processes are undertaken to verify the (a) cyber security and (b) data protection measures of digital services provided to Government.

Oliver Dowden: Clarification and assumptionWe assume that this question refers to external supplier digital services and products utilised by government. The Government enforces a number of controls to ensure that any supplier to government has adequate cyber security and demonstrates acceptable protection of government data Each department is responsible for understanding and managing the security risks that their supply chain poses. Contracts with government departments should include cyber security clauses referencing how incidents would be managed in the event of a cyber attack This year, the Government issued a new Minimum Cyber Security Standard which outlines a set of protective measures that departments should implement, and exceed wherever possible. The standard will be incremented to continually ‘raise the bar’, address new threats, and incorporate the use of new Active Cyber Defence measures from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).   The standard enables departments and their suppliers to better understand their cyber security risks and makes clear government’s expectations of suppliers. The new cyber security standard will be applied to government's strategic suppliers to assess if they meet the required level, and government will write the standard into new contracts and enforce full compliance with it Government will also pilot the introduction of the cyber security equivalent of a ‘credit check’ on suppliers, to allow for easy risk assessments of suppliers and to accelerate expansion of the world-leading Active Cyber Defence programme, to better protect our critical national infrastructure including services such as our hospitals and schools Departments are also supported in choosing suppliers through Cyber Essentials, the government-backed and industry-supported scheme to guide businesses in protecting themselves against cyber threats. The scheme is a key element of the UK’s National Cyber Security Strategy 2016-2021 and certification is available to all organisations, of all sizes and in all sectors Departments also use advice from the NCSC to ensure that their supply chain is secure. Examples of such advice include twelve principles for establishing effective control and oversight of supply chain and fifteen good practice measures for the protection of bulk data held by digital services At a national level, all organisations in the UK must comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation. This includes government departments and any digital service providers that are helping to deliver government services. These laws require all parties carrying out processing operations to hold personal data securely and in accordance with the rights of data subjects.

Elections: Disability

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the access to elections working group is appropriately resourced to implement the actions set out in the Government's response to Call for evidence: access to elections, published in August 2018.

Chloe Smith: The Access to Elections Working Group is appropriately resourced. We received over 250 responses from the Call for evidence and have published a report of key findings and actions to be taken forward for polls reserved to the UK Government to ensure that our elections are as accessible as possible, and to remove any barriers that exist to democratic participation. Implementation of the action is split between disabled people's’ organisations (in widening awareness), Government (in any potential legislative change), the Electoral Commission (in revision and development of guidance) and Returning Officers (in training of staff and running of polls). The Group’s membership includes leading charities and key electoral stakeholders who will work together to better support disabled people’s participation in our democratic process.

Companies: Ownership

Bill Esterson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to paragraph 11 of his consultation document on the draft Register of Overseas Entities Bill relating to information for the public register on the beneficial ownership of companies that bid for public contracts, what thresholds he is considering for those contracts.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to paragraph 11 of his consultation on the draft Register of Overseas Entities Bill and the information for the public register on beneficial ownership of companies that bid for public contracts, what conditions he is considering for those contracts.

Oliver Dowden: The Government has decided that the most effective way to achieve the required level of transparency on overseas entity beneficial ownership is to require information about beneficial ownership as a condition of awarding contracts that meet certain conditions or thresholds, and that this will enable the public and interested parties to easily identify the beneficial owners of entities awarded central government contracts. The information about beneficial ownership that will be required, will be equivalent to that proposed for the Register of Overseas Entities, and it will be published in an equally transparent way.The Government is currently considering mechanisms including the Contracts Finder service (currently used to publish contract award information) to achieve this. A financial threshold for applying the policy on publishing beneficial ownership information has not yet been decided and will be subject to a Government consultation.

Local Government: Elections

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of voters who were turned away from polling stations at the local government elections 2018 in the voter ID pilot areas because they did not have appropriate identification.

Chloe Smith: The Government is committed to making sure that our electoral system is fit for the future. Vulnerabilities cannot be allowed to undermine the integrity of our democracy. The success of the voter ID pilots proves that this is a reasonable and proportionate measure and voters were fully aware of the changes on polling day. Our evaluation shows that the overwhelming majority of electors who turned up to vote did so with the right documents and had confidence in knowing how to cast their vote. The requested information can be found at: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/electoral-fraud/voter-identification-pilot-schemes

Electorate: Personation

Grahame Morris: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cases of voter impersonation have been identified in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: The Electoral Commission collates and publishes information on allegations of electoral fraud at elections each year. Reports for 2014 - 2017 polls are available on the Electoral Commission website and a report covering polls held in 2018 will be published in due course.

Treasury

Second Homes: Non-domestic Rates

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to prevent owners of second homes registering their home as a holiday let in order to register for small business rate relief when the home is not available for let for the required number of days per year.

Mel Stride: Owners of properties that are holiday lets are required to fill out forms of return (FORs) at each business rates revaluation to confirm that there is an intention to let their properties for 140 days each year. The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) also issue FORs when they become aware of new holiday lets. Should local authorities or members of the public have reason to suspect a property is no longer satisfying the criteria for business rates assessment they should contact the VOA.

Treasury: Public Appointments

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department holds information on the socio-economic background of people appointed to senior positions in his Department in the last five years.

Robert Jenrick: In line with Cabinet Office policy for all government departments to collect and report on Socio-economic background data by 2020, the Treasury are currently preparing to update processes and technology to allow collection and reporting of this data.

Enterprise Management Incentives

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what social economic distributional analysis his Department has undertaken in relation to the effect on individual groups of the Enterprise Management Incentive Exemptions and Reliefs; and if he will place a copy of that analysis in the Library.

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what equality impact assessment on gender and other protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 his Department has undertaken on the Enterprise Management Incentives exemptions and reliefs; and if he will place a copy of that equality impact assessment in the Library.

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has identified a disproportionate effect of Enterprise Management Incentives exemptions and reliefs with regard to gender and other protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

Mel Stride: HMRC published a research report Evaluation of enterprise Management Scheme incentives in June 2018. This presents evidence on a number of economic and distributional issues. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/716544/EMI_report_Final.pdf HMRC carefully considers the equality impacts of all decisions on those sharing protected characteristics as stipulated by the ‘Public Sector Equality Duty’, including gender, race and disability - in line with both its legal obligations and with its strong commitment to equality issues. An equality impact assessment was included in the Tax Information and Impacts Note (TIIN) published on 9 December 2015 which is published here:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20170525152716/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employee-share-schemes-simplification-of-the-rules/employee-share-schemes-simplification-of-the-rules

Enterprise Management Incentives

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) people and (b) businesses benefited from Enterprise Management Incentives exemptions and reliefs in each year since 2010.

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse was of Enterprise Management Incentives exemptions and reliefs in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013, (e) 2014, (f) 2015, (g) 2016 and (h) 2017.

Mel Stride: Information on the number of individuals that have been granted options in EMI schemes, the number of businesses where employees are granted options and the cost to the public purse from Income Tax and National Insurance Contribution (NIC) relief is published in the Employee Share Schemes National Statistics Table 6.6 Enterprise Management Incentives. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employee-share-schemes-statisticsThis publication covers tax years from 2000/01 to 2016/17 but there is no data for 2014/15.

Treasury: Brexit

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what equality impact assessment on gender and other protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 his Department has undertaken with regard to the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and if he will place a copy of that equality impact assessment in the Library.

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has identified a disproportionate effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal with regard to gender and other protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

John Glen: The government remains confident of concluding a deal with the EU and firmly believes that this deal will genuinely work for everyone across the UK. HM Treasury carefully considers equality impacts on those sharing protected characteristics, including gender, race and disability on an ongoing basis - in line with both its legal obligations and with its strong commitment to equality issues. As the department with overall responsibility for leaving the EU it is for the Department for Exiting the EU to provide information on any overall disproportionate effect on those with protected characteristics

Tax Avoidance

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect the 2019 Loan Charge on the NHS.

Mel Stride: The charge on disguised remuneration (DR) loans is targeted at artificial tax avoidance schemes where earnings were paid in the form of non-repayable loans, often made by an offshore third party. It is unfair to ordinary taxpayers to let anybody continue to benefit from contrived tax avoidance of this sort, and that is why this government has taken action to ensure that everybody pays the taxes they owe. As the charge on DR loans is specifically targeted at these contrived tax avoidance schemes it is not expected to have a significant effect on the NHS. For more information please see the issue briefing, published in July 2018: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-issue-briefing-disguised-remuneration-charge-on-loans

NHS: Agency Workers

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an estimate of the VAT loss to the public purse of the use of direct engagement models for agency health workers in the NHS.

Mel Stride: Where agency health workers are directly engaged by the Trusts, then VAT is due on the introductory fee charged by the agency. HMRC review the VAT position of all taxpayers, including NHS trusts, to help ensure that VAT is collected where it is due.

Child Trust Fund

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what additional resources he is allocating to HMRC to assist parents in locating lost Child Trust Fund accounts.

Mel Stride: HMRC allocates resource in a flexible manner to manage emerging pressures by identifying savings and reallocating resources within its overall allocations set by the Treasury. Information on the structure and organisation of HM Revenue and Customs is available athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018

Treasury: Peers

Justin Madders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many members of the House of Lords hold (a) paid and (b) unpaid roles within (i) his Department and (ii) his Department's agencies.

Robert Jenrick: The Treasury Ministers, Special Advisers and additional Ministers are published in the Annual report and Accounts. Please see the Remuneration and Staff Report chapter (pages 66-69) at the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018

New Enterprise Allowance

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment  of the dynamic effect on tax receipts of the New Enterprise Allowance.

Elizabeth Truss: The New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) supports people on eligible benefits who want to move into self-employment. The NEA, alongside all government policies, are costed with a central estimate of the impact on the Exchequer where possible. In the case of the NEA, responsibility for this assessment is with the Department for Work and Pensions as the lead department who are also responsible for evaluating the impact of the policy.

Consumer Prices Index

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to use the Consumer Prices Index in preference to RPI as a measurement in all government transactions, negotiations and agreements.

Elizabeth Truss: The problems with RPI are well known. The Government has made progress in moving away from the use of RPI, for instance through bringing forward the planned switch in indexation of business rates from RPI to CPI by two years to April 2018. However, any further decisions to stop using RPI must also consider the fiscal costs associated. The Government has committed to reviewing the use of RPI for indirect taxes once its fiscal consolidation plans are complete.

Payment Methods

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a cash-less economy on taxation revenues.

Mel Stride: At Spring Statement 2018, the Government launched a call for evidence on cash and digital payments in the new economy. This explored what more can be done to crack down on the minority who use cash to evade tax and launder money, while ensuring that the public’s cash needs continue to be met. The government will respond in due course.

Pay

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people earned (a) less than £5,000 and (b) between (i) £5,000 and £10,000, (ii) £10,000 and £15,000, (iii) £15,000 and £20,000, (iv) £20,000 and £25,000, (v) £25,000 and £30,000, (vi) £30,000 and £35,000, (vii) £35,000 and £40,000, (viii) £40,000 and £45,000, (ix) £45,000 and £50,000, (x) £50,000 and £55,000 and (xi) £55,000 and £60,000 in each of the last 10 years; and how much in (A) income tax; and (B) national insurance contributions individuals in each of those earnings bands paid in each of those years.

Mel Stride: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. HMRC collects information on taxpayers but does not collect information on all people as it does not affect the amount of tax due. Furthermore, due to changes in the methodology over the last 10 years, it would require additional time and resource to provide all the information requested. Information on income tax liabilities, by income range, for the years 1999-2000 to 2014-15 inclusive can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-tax-liabilities-by-income-range--2 Information on income tax liabilities, by income range, for the years 2015-16 to 2018-19 inclusive can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-tax-liabilities-by-income-range Please be aware the years 2016-17 to 2018-19 inclusive are projections only. Income range breakdowns for National Insurance liabilities are not presently available.

Sanitary Protection: VAT

Grahame Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money has been raised for the public purse from VAT on sanitary products in each of the last three years; and how much funding has been distributed to charities through the Tampon Tax Fund by region.

Mel Stride: Sanitary products are subject to the 5% reduced rate of VAT, the lowest rate permitted under current EU VAT rules. Until the UK leaves the EU, we remain a full member with all of the rights and obligations that membership entails. Finance Act 2016 included legislation to introduce a zero rate of VAT for sanitary products at the earliest opportunity. HMRC estimates that VAT receipts from the sale of sanitary products are approximately £15m in each of the last three years. In 2015, the Government announced a new fund awarding an equivalent £15 million a year to projects that improve the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged women and girls. Since 2016, over eighty charities have been allocated grants totalling £47 million from this Tampon Tax Fund. The Tampon Tax Fund is UK-wide and many of the projects operate across the UK. We do not have a breakdown of the allocation by region. Earlier this year, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport announced the ten projects from across the UK receiving the latest round of funding. Details of these awards are available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/women-and-girls-set-to-benefit-from-15-million-tampon-tax-fund.

Taxation

Jack Lopresti: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress the Government has made on reducing taxes for working families.

Mel Stride: To support working families, the Government has committed to raise the income tax personal allowance to £12,500, and the higher rate threshold to £50,000 by 2020. We have taken significant steps towards meeting these commitments: in April, the personal allowance increased to £11,850, and the higher rate threshold to £46,350. This means a typical basic rate taxpayer will pay £1,075 less income tax this year than in 2010-11. Increases to the personal allowance and higher rate threshold have benefitted over 31 million individuals since the start of the last parliament.

Treasury: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being when formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national well-being in the last 12 months.

Robert Jenrick: HM Treasury considers a wide range of information when formulating policy, including personal wellbeing statistics. The government has supported living standards through raising the personal allowance and introducing the National Living Wage, and supporting families through the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

Public Sector

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which companies the Government has a more than 50 per cent ownership stake; whether he (a) receives a copy of the audited accounts of Government-owned companies in each financial year and (b) keeps a record of the (i) auditors of such companies and (ii) reporting frameworks that those companies use to produce their accounts where they differ from the public sector IFRS standard; and which Government-owned companies lay their accounts before Parliament and share a copy with the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Elizabeth Truss: The accounts of non-profit making companies included within the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of non-profit making companies) Order 2009 (SI 2009/476) and as amended by subsequent Orders must be examined and certified by the Comptroller and Audit General. The C&AG must then send a copy of the accounts and the report to the relevant departmental Secretary of State, usually this is the SoS of the sponsor department, or any other minister of the Crown who must then lay them before Parliament. Companies must also comply with applicable requirements in the Companies Act 2006 and follow the financial reporting principles of the HM Treasury Financial Reporting Manual (except for public corporations that are not trading funds). Companies that have charitable status should comply with applicable charities legislation and where relevant, the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) Accounting for Charities, issued by the Charity Commission. The Whole of Government accounts consolidates organisations that have been classified to the public sector by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which may include government owned companies.

Public Sector: Accountancy

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies in each Government Department of which the Government owns more than 50 per cent do not lay their accounts before Parliament.

Elizabeth Truss: Details of those companies of which there is no requirement to lay their accounts before Parliament is maintained by individual sponsor departments.

International Military Services

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the (a) assets and (b) liabilities of International Military Services Ltd are exempt from consolidation in the whole of Government accounts.

Elizabeth Truss: The Whole of Government accounts consolidates organisations that have been classified as public sector by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).The classification guidance can be found at:https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/classificationsandstandards/economicstatisticsclassifications/introductiontoeconomicstatisticsclassifications The assets and liabilities of International Military Services Ltd have been consolidated into the Whole of Government accounts in the form of a prepayment and payables, which feeds through from the accounts of Ministry of Defence. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727618/CCS207_CCS0318104056-1_MOD_ARA_2017-18_-_Web_PDF.pdf Disclosure can be found in ‘Note 12 Trade receivables and other assets’ page 186, and ‘Note 14 Trade payables and other liabilities’ page 188.

Companies

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the number of Government controlled companies that report as small companies under the Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

Elizabeth Truss: Government controlled companies must comply with the applicable requirements in the Companies Act 2006 and follow the financial reporting principles of the HM Treasury Financial Reporting Manual (except for public corporations that are not trading funds). This includes the provision of the additional disclosures required by the Manual where these go beyond the Companies Act. The Manual applies EU adopted international financial reporting standards (IFRS) as adapted or interpreted for the public sector. Government controlled companies that have charitable status should comply with the applicable charities legislation and where relevant, the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) Accounting for Charities, issued by the Charity Commission. Sections within the Companies Act 2006 define the qualifying criteria for small companies’ regime. The disclosure exemptions permitted under the small companies’ regime do not generally apply to government owned companies unless specific approval has been sought by the relevant authority. Departments, in the first instance, will exercise oversight of such companies, through the monitoring of these companies and consolidation within their annual report and accounts or recognition as investments.

Companies

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on Government controlled companies being exempt from laying their accounts before Parliament.

Elizabeth Truss: Laying of annual reports and accounts before Parliament is a fundamental part of the accountability process and any requirement to lay the accounts of government controlled companies is set out in relevant legislation. The accounts of non-profit making companies included within the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of non-profit making companies) Order 2009 (SI 2009/476) and as amended by subsequent Orders must be examined and certified by the Comptroller and Audit General. The C&AG must then send a copy of the accounts and the report to the relevant departmental Secretary of State, usually this is the SoS of the sponsor department, or any other minister of the Crown who must then lay them before Parliament. Government controlled companies are also subject to the Companies Act 2006 and must submit their accounts to Companies House. The sponsor department of each government controlled company will either consolidate the entity in full or incorporated as investments within their own group consolidated accounts which are subject to audit by the C&AG and laid before Parliament.

Companies

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the Government controlled companies in each Department that do not have their assets and liabilities consolidated into the Whole of Government Accounts.

Elizabeth Truss: Every year the Whole of Government Accounts publishes the following annexes: Annex 1: List of entities consolidated in WGAAnnex 2: Entities that are not consolidated in WGAAnnex 3: Minor entities excluded from the consolidation The latest annexes can be found using the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/whole-of-government-accounts-2016-to-2017

Treasury: Mobile Phones

Justin Madders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a list of the mobile phone applications developed by his Department and its agencies in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of developing of each of those applications.

Robert Jenrick: No mobile phone applications have been developed by the department or its agencies in the last three years.

Homelessness: Payment Methods

Clive Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the consultation, Cash and digital payments in the new economy, published in December 2017, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the increase in cashless and electronic payments on homeless people.

John Glen: The Government recognises that people are increasingly moving away from cash and that the growth in the use of digital payments has been rapid. However, the Government also recognises that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many people, especially the more vulnerable members of society and the elderly. Government has been engaging and will continue to engage with the regulators and industry, including LINK, to ensure that it is maintained.The Government established the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) in 2015 with a statutory objective to ensure that the UK’s payment systems work in the interests of their users. As part of this, the PSR is monitoring developments within ATM provision. The PSR have also set out three requirements of LINK: that LINK must maintain the current geographical spread of ATMs; that any changes made to interchange fees must be incremental to allow LINK to monitor the impact and take action if the impact is not as expected; and for a greater focus on LINK’s financial inclusion programme, to continue to fill gaps in the network. Indeed, to ensure the provision of ATMs in rural, isolated or vulnerable areas, LINK announced it will enhance its financial inclusion plan to include in the programme all ATMs that are a kilometre or further from the next other free-to-use ATM. While the Government has not made a formal assessment of the issue in question, the Government is open to hearing views, as evidenced by its recently closed call for evidence on cash and digital payments in the new economy. This sought information on how the shift from cash to digital payments impacts on different sectors, different regions and different demographics. The Government will formally respond to the call for evidence in due course.

Currency Speculation: Taxation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a Spahn tax on currency transactions.

John Glen: The Government has made no assessment of introducing a Spahn tax on currency transactions. As per the Exchange Equalisation Account Act 1979, the Government’s official reserves are available for checking undue fluctuations in the exchange value of sterling.

Foreign Companies: Russia

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance his Department has issued to the Listing Authorities on the suitability of Russian-controlled companies that apply to be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

John Glen: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the competent authority for listings and operates independently of Government. For listed companies, the UK Listing Authority (a division of the FCA) monitors and enforces compliance with the Listing Rules. The decision to approve an application for listing rests with the FCA and for admission to trading with the London Stock Exchange.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department uses Office for National Statistics estimates of personal well-being when formulating policy; and what policies his Department has introduced to improve national well-being in the last 12 months.

Margot James: My Department works closely with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to develop policies that improve well-being.The ONS wellbeing estimates are incorporated into the DCMS Taking Part Survey. This annual survey is commissioned to provide an evidence source on participation in culture and sport and collects data on well being. The survey is currently used to measure and inform departmental indicators, inform the formulation of DCMS policy, and to understand the drivers of participation in cultural and sporting activities.Policy formulation also includes policy evaluation. ONS personal well-being data is used to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of policy interventions. A recent example is the National Citizen Service. The reported personal well being of young people before and after their participation in the service has been evaluated. The results found statistically significant increases.

Mayflower: Anniversaries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with tourist boards in the UK on marketing the whole of the UK to American visitors as part of the Mayflower 400 year celebrations.

Michael Ellis: Government fully supports the Mayflower 400 programme, and we acknowledge Plymouth as the centre for the anniversary commemorations. Initiatives such as these help to encourage tourists to travel outside of London and see what the whole UK has to offer.The Mayflower 400 received standalone grant (not Discover England Fund) of £500,000 over a two-year term ending 31 March 2018 to undertake a range of consumer marketing media ,PR Travel trade and product development activities.The Mayflower is also a feature of the £500,000 Discover England fund project “US connections” which uses cultural connections to grow inbound tourism from the US. The project will also be attending Destination Britain North America later this year.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Syria: Christianity

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard persecuted communities in Syria, including Syrian Christians during the offensive in the Idlib area of Syria.

Alistair Burt: ​We are gravely concerned about the risks for all the civilian population in Idlib, regardless of ethnicity or religion, from the threatened military offensive by the Syrian regime and Russia. The UK supports the urgent diplomatic efforts being made by Turkey and the UN. We call on the Syrian regime and its backers, Russia and Iran, to uphold the de-escalation arrangements they have previously agreed, and for all parties to respect international humanitarian law, including protection of all civilians without discrimination. We are providing additional humanitarian assistance and medical support to Idlib. This assistance is distributed on the basis of need, to ensure Syrians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, or ethnicity.

Prime Minister

House of Lords: Reform

Justin Madders: To ask the Prime Minister, what recent steps she has taken to reduce the number of peers.

Mrs Theresa May: I refer the Hon. Member to my letter to the Lord Speaker of 20 February 2018. This is available at:https://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-information-office/2018/The%20Lord%20Fowler_001.pdf